23 Weeks and More on Cloth Diapers

We've made it to 23 weeks! Sorry for the late post - this week has been a really rough one. I came down with a miserable cold that has kept me practically bed-ridden for the past 4 days. I had to call in sick two days last week and thankfully I have a 3-day weekend for MLK day to continue to recover. Today I still have a sore throat, stuffy chapped nose, and a cough, but I'm feeling well enough to do a little grocery shopping, and I'm actually coherent enough to sit and read and type. I haven't been sick in so long - this has NOT been fun! Since I'm pregnant, there are very few medications I can take, and the ones that are allowed are not very effective. But, it has been nice to have some time to just relax at home even though I didn't accomplish much of anything!

*I did accomplish one thing - I purchased the Alice in Wonderland fabric to sew the nursery bedding! Once it comes in the mail, I'll head to the fabric store to buy the rest of the fabric and notions. I can hardly wait! I am hoping to start our Babies R Us registry this evening as well, but with this rain, I'm not sure if I'll be able to convince Mike to go out with me. We shall see!*

Baby still seems to be doing okay - I feel her move several times a day, but she is definitely not as active as she was before I got sick. I worry that since I am not feeling well, she isn't feeling so great either. I usually feel some movement from her every few hours. Still no big kicks yet - Mike is still waiting to really be able to interact with her.

Baby is now close to 12" long, and weighs just over a pound. Her sense of movement is developed now, so she can tell when I am moving. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that her ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb. Her eyes can now open and close, and she has her very own tiny set of fingerprints!

According to my weekly emails, now is about the time when pregnant swelling begins (especially in the lower extremities). I haven't noticed any swelling yet, and since we are in the middle of winter, hopefully I won't get any additional swelling from the heat. Other than this miserable cold, I've been feeling pretty good pregnancy-wise. I am full-time in maternity pants now, although I do still need to wear my belly band over them to keep them from falling down. My belly isn't quite big enough yet to hold them up on their own yet! My maternity shirts are definitely filling out. All my baby doll tops hang over me like a bell - not cute! I've started wearing more regular (and maternity) t-shirts so that you can tell I just have a bump and not a giant bell-shaped torso. I refuse to wear heels anymore now since they hurt my feet, and I don't have that great of balance to begin with! I bought a couple pairs of flat boots, and I am loving them!

I have been continuing to have cramps, which is starting to concern me. They feel like menstrual cramps, and they last from 15 minutes to an hour. Sometimes they are bad enough that I need to use a heat pack, and I can't move. I haven't had any spotting, so I think everything is okay, but I am definitely going to bring this up to my doctor later this week.

23 Weeks

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Cloth Diapers

One thing that I did manage to do this week is go to a Cloth Diapering 101 class at the local baby boutique. Mike came along with me so that we could both be on the same page about diapers. It was a very educational class. We were shown all the different types of cloth diapers, and the advantages/disadvantages of each. I'm much more comfortable now, and I'm no longer overwhelmed by all the different pieces! Mike is on board with the cloth diapering idea, and we came to the agreement that we are going to use disposables for the first week or so, just until we (mainly Mike!) are comfortable with changing diapers and settling into a routine (allowing us some time to start diaper laundry!).

We both really liked the pocket diapers and the fitted diapers. I wouldn't mind having some prefolds on hand, but I'll mostly use them for stuffing the pockets rather than using them as actual diapers. We aren't huge fans of the idea of all the folding and pinning (even with snappies) - the simpler, the better - which is why we like the fitted diapers. We were also shown these great wet bags. Not only do they come in a small size for your diaper bag, but they come in a large size big enough for hanging in the nursery! I want to use cloth wipes as well. I am really excited to get started!